SSSSSaaaaaaamokin'!

In kindergarten & elementary school, there was nothing more exciting that when you'd be caviled to an assembly…your feet would dangle above the floor as you sat in those fold-up stadium seats built during the 1930s (probably) and then VOILA!…onstage would walk Smokey the Bear. You know, a six-foot tall bear wearing a hat and dungarees. Of course. You'd get a big speech about how only us could prevent forest fires, and more importantly you got a plastic bag with, among other things I can't remember, an incredibly flammable wooden ruler. Of course. Together, with this bear dressed as what I would now say to be a male stripper ("does SOMEone need a hose?"), you were gonna save the planet from burning to death. - XMASTIME

Guess whose birfday is today?

On this date in 1944, Smokey Bear's likeness was first released on posters designed by the United States Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council. Perhaps the world's strongest advocate against forest fires, Smokey's been featured in commercials, songs, books and other pop culture iconography over the decades.

You can see 6 vintage PSAs there. Enjoy!